Gamo Whisper w/ Air Venturi gas spring - dissatisfied

[djtrackie]

I was hoping to write a nice glowing review about this airgun but unfortunately I cannot.  

I got my whisper w/ the Air Venturi gas spring last week and since I have put about 800 rounds through.  It has been shooting extremely inconsistent. I have tried kodiaks, Crosman premier heavies, RWS hobbies so far.

I got my second package from PA today, a clamp on bipod, a new Leapers 3-9X40AO scope,  and 4 tins of Beeman Crow Magnums .177.  Maybe my woes was caused by the infamously poor gamo scope?  I was sure hoping so.

I spent all night working on the gun, making sure everything was nice and tight.  I even took the time and took of the aluminum scope rail (which by the way already had a gash in it from the stop pin!) and mounted the scope mount directly on the gun  (following the advice of bb pelletier http://www.pyramydair.com/blog/2008/01/gamo-cf-x-gas-spring-part-3.html).  I set up the bipod, got a super sturdy table, read up on how to shoot an airgun and made sure my technique was consistent.  I set up my make-shift pellet trap filled with old magazines about 20-25 yards away.  

Shooting time.  

First three shots, dead on.  
"Hell yeah.. i'm back in the game."  

Next shot, off by 3 inches at 20 yards.
" Hmm.. maybe I held it wrong"

Next shot off by 3 inches in the other direction.
"dangit!"

Next 2 shots, 1 inch off same spot.
"okay..."

REPEAT 10 times.  

That's how it was all night.  I was adjusting the scope left and right, up and down.  

I even got to a point where I'm maxing out the adjustments to the Right of the scope... that's when I said "THAT'S IT, I'm DONE"

Tomorrow I'm going to put the whole thing back together, reinstall OEM trigger, remove scope, repackage everything.  

I really really really wanted to like this rifle.  It LOOKS killer, but shoots like crap.

Oh, did I mention that this rifle still smokes everywhere after 800 rounds?  

I just wanted to plink in my backyard and reduce the # of squirrels that have been invading the garden.  But I don't want to shoot the squirrels in the wrong spot and leave an inhumane kill.  THat's why an inaccurate, inconsistent rifle is UNACCEPTABLE!

I hope PA accepts the return for an exchange or something, I dont even care if I have to eat the 15% restocking fee.

Thanks for reading,

Jack


PS:  any ideas for a next gun?  I'm kinda of eyeing the AirForce Talon SS

[hodgjy]

Sorry to hear that.  I'm sharing in some of your frustration my new gas-rammed Crosman NPSS.  I've found that the NPSS is extremely hold sensitive.  So, I was wondering if you thought the Whisper was hold sensitive?  I've read that shooting off a bipod can make some great shooters into lousy shooters.  Do you think this is the case with the Whisper at all?

[JimL911]

It may be that these guns are just too light. The Theos and RX 2 ,HW90 with rams all weigh between 8-10 lbs. Can you add a few lbs in the butt?

[Gene_SC]

the gas ram options.

Here is something that CDT and I both agree on and Bob wrote up a short answer to help people with the decision on buying gas ram air guns.

The Gas Venturi or gas ram....  In my opinion, I would not buy it. To me
they are not all that would appear although when they are functioning
properly there is an advantage.. that being there is no double recoil
usually and not quite as harsh. But they are harder cocking over the entire
cocking travel and there is usually a loss in velocity. How much depends on
the gun. They are very expensive to replace and longevity has always been
questionable and are not repairable and have a tendency to leak after a
while, even with the Theoben Gas Rams. Theoben was the developer of the Gas
Ram application to airguns and they only back them up 6 months.

[shadow]

I'm leaning with Gene on this since I've read about more then just a handful of gas rammed shooter owners not happy with them. I've heard some good report's about them but one thing that I do keep a eye on is how many report's on hunting with them and I haven't seen enough to make me want to get one. Ed

[doc1310]

I agree with you Jack, I shot my Whisper yesterday and after a 1000 pellets through it, it was still smoking like a cigar. Heavy pellets have helped but this gun shoots badly. I need to check the date but I'm sure I'm out of my 30 day return option. I'll send it to one of the tuners to see what they think about it. Like you I wanted to like this gun but I don't...........However, I do have a new Crosman Nitro .22 and this rifle is what I wanted the Whisper to be.
Good luck Jack

[AirgunWeb]

Hey guys... I've got the Whisper in .22 with the gas ram, GRT III trigger and BSA 3-12x44 scope... It is by far my favorite break barrel.  I found the Gamo Hunter pellets to be the best.  All others did the same as you described.  A couple of shots would group well and then one would be off.  You can see what I mean here: http://www.airgunweb.com/2009/02/gamo-whisper-csi-special-edition-with-air-venturi-gas-ram-and-bsa-3-12x50-ao-scope/

I'm not intending to promote my site, just letting you know that I found what for me was a "magic" combination.  My wife even loves shooting this gun.  

As for the gas ram... I like it way better than the spring.. I guess we'll see how it does after a couple of years of shooting.

Cheers all.

Rick

[Gene_SC]

Hi Rick, welcome to the GTA. The GTA is a learning forum so that new and seasoned air gunners can experience others opinions on different air gun models. And learn the safety of handling air guns. Glad to have another seasoned veteran air gunner aboard. Your web site seems to be very informative and laid out well. Great ease of navigation as well.

I do not know if you realize it but we have 47 forums here on the GTA in 6 categories. You can click on the logo at top of page to see the full lineup of the GTA forums. Hope you come often and share your experiences with all of us.

[AirgunWeb]

Gene, Thanks for the intro.  
I'm a huge fan of airguns for sure.  I hope to spend what time I can up here helping out.

Cheers

Rick

[Gene_SC]

Your welcome Rick. Your video of the pellet velocity was good and using the Gamo Hunter 440. Over the years I have owned many Gamo's and a few Gamo 440's as well. In fact I still have my favorite 440. In every case each one liked different pellets. I mostly shoot paper and of course the goal is getting all the pellets in the same hole.. My current 440 is tuned using a JM Merlin XL spring. Instead of the 900 plus fps using CP's she is pushing lead at around 800 fps with a tight 14 fps overall deviation, using CP lights. Very accurate and very low recoil as well. It is great to test the different configurations to see what is the best combination for accuracy and consistency.

Like you said we all have the love of the sport/hobby in our blood and are well on our way to total addiction..

[AirgunWeb]

Gene,

I've got a couple of new reviews going up soon.. Is is ok for me to post links to them in the reviews area?  I'll have some new vids coming out soon as well.  I've got some decent footage of the new Marauder...

Rick

[airgun/cuz]

If it's not a Theoben Gas-Ram,it's not worth the trouble,I have every Theoben Gas-ram & have never encounted a problem with any of them,I know quite a few people with Theobens & none of them have ever had problems & they've been shooting airguns for a very long time,I am not saying that problems will not occur or that they can never malfunction,I just have not seen it,especially in the newer H.E. Systems, The Theoben gas-rams can be increased or decreased with pressure by using a special pump ,other cloned rams do not & will not function like the real deal !

[chrisremair77]

AirgunWeb - 7/4/2009  8:47 PM

Gene,

I've got a couple of new reviews going up soon.. Is is ok for me to post links to them in the reviews area?  I'll have some new vids coming out soon as well.  I've got some decent footage of the new Marauder...

Rick

Ive been waiting for you to say that for like the past two months.

[Schmidty25]

Thanx for the review and the down low on this gun!